


And He's Gone to Carterhaugh

by TaraHarkon



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Ballad 39: Tam Lin, Fairy Tale Retellings, First Meetings, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-13
Updated: 2019-01-13
Packaged: 2019-10-09 12:50:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17407220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TaraHarkon/pseuds/TaraHarkon
Summary: O I forbid you maidens allWho wear gold in your hairTo come and go by CarterhaughFor young Tam Lin is thereThat's how the song goes. The truth of the story was close enough.





	And He's Gone to Carterhaugh

There were stories about the wood near Taako's home, the wood they called Carterhaugh. There were stories of the beautiful flowers, of a sacred well, of a crossroads where the old magics were alive. There were stories of a handsome man, ethereal and perfect, who dwelled within, and of the toll that he exacted from those who dared to enter his wood. Taako had never dared venture to Carterhaugh. Why should he? Taako was good out here. Lup was the adventurous one. But today, Lup was off with that nerdy alchemist she'd been hanging out with lately. Which left him at loose ends. Again. Taako leaned against the windowsill and stared down the road. He could see the wood Carterhaugh from here, could see the rose vines climbing the trees. The blossoms were full and bright, like spatters of blood against the green of the forest. For a long moment, he considered those blooms. Then he grinned, thinking about the outfit he had planned for the summer gala coming up. Turning, he ran back to his room to change. He had a green skirt that was absolutely fucking perfect for a flower-picking expedition. He also grabbed a light cape and wrapped it around his shoulders. Perfect.

And so he was gone to Carterhaugh as fast as he could go. The flowers that called him grew all along the road and deeper into the forest. With a basket on his arm, Taako approached a creeping rose vine that wrapped around a towering tree and examined the roses there. He didn't need many, mostly just one large one for his hair. A little magic to preserve the flower and it would make the perfect accessory.

"Sick, this one's perfect." He reached and pulled a small knife from his belt to cut the stem. "Cha'boy's just gonna help himself to this one right here and..."

With a careful flick of his blade, the bloom fell into Taako's outstretched hand and he set it into the basket. That was when he felt the cool hand on his shoulder. Whirling around, he came face to face with the glowing red eyes of a handsome stranger.

"And who are you to be picking flowers in Carterhaugh without my leave?"

Taako's eyes widened and he looked the man up and down. He was well-dressed in dark greens and blacks, with ears that came to short points, and humor in the lines of his face. After a moment, Taako shifted his stance and grinned.

"Without your leave? Because you totally own Carterhaugh, right? What's your name, thug? Because I need to know who's trying to stop me from going where I please."

The handsome man's smile turned wry and he cupped Taako's chin with one hand.

"I am Kravitz, Faerie Knight of Carterhaugh, servant of the Raven Queen. And you haven't answered my question." Kravitz smiled and leaned in. "Or paid the toll for trespass."

Taako raised an eyebrow and took a step back, his back colliding with the tree behind him. Silently, he cursed himself for being stupid enough to get caught. Although... Taako reached into the basket on his arm and grinned, holding out a wrapped package.

"Here, my guy, have some macarons and let's talk about this whole toll sitch because Taako's not about that life."

Kravitz raised an eyebrow but accepted the package. Then he offered his arm with a charming smile.

"Oh, certainly. You do get a choice of payment, after all, and I would hate for you to think you don't have a say in the matter."

Taako looped his arm through Kravitz's and gestured broadly.

"Lead on, my guy. Show me the best picnic spot you got in this place." 

* * *

 

After a walk that seemed like forever, Taako and Kravitz entered a wooded glade. A stream ran along one side, bubbling over little rocks and shimmering in the sunlight. There was soft grass, interspersed with little patches of the greenest clover Taako had ever seen and the edges were trimmed in flowers in every color. Kravitz guided him to sit in the grass and Taako took off his red mantle, spreading it out across the ground.

"So, Faerie Boy, give one of those bad boys a try and let me know what you think."

Kravitz shook his head a little, smiling at Taako. Carefully, he unwrapped the package and looked down at the half-dozen or so delicate macarons, each a pale lavender color. Selecting one, he took a small bite and closed his eyes appreciatively.

"As lovely as you are, bold Taako." He popped the rest of the cookie into his mouth and met Taako's eyes. "But really, we do need to talk about your transgressions. The rules of my wood are clear and I thought everyone knew."

Taako reached for the little paper package and took a macaron of his own. Popping it into his mouth, he savored the taste, using it to cover as he thought.

"Okay, my dude, lay it out for me. What are the rules around here and what kind of trouble am I in?"

Kravitz pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment and then leaned forward.

"As endearing as the act is, I can't believe that you don't know the rules of Carterhaugh, Taako. So, which will it be? Your mantle or an evening of pleasure with me."

Taako raised an eyebrow and looked Kravitz over, his smile slowly growing wider.

"Well, shit, my dude, I didn't realize you were on the menu. Color me very interested."

For just a moment, Kravitz looked more than slightly poleaxed. Then he returned Taako's smile and reached out to cup his cheek.

"Are you certain, Taako?"

Taako grinned up at Kravitz, gaze wandering his features. This elf in gray really was extremely handsome and he'd been nothing but gentle and courteous so far. Of course, Taako liked him. The problem was that he'd said an evening, as in just one, and Taako really wasn't feeling one and done. Well, in the words of his sister, he'd burn that bridge when he got to it.

"Hell yeah, homie. Cha'boy is deffo down to clown."

Kravitz leaned down and kissed Taako gently. He ran his fingers through Taako's fair hair, a smile on his lips.

"Come here then, sweet Taako." 

* * *

 

It had been early summer when Taako had first entered Caterhaugh, the roses in full bloom. It was late fall now, the gala behind them and winter ahead. Kravitz lay in among the brightly colored fallen leaves with Taako in his arms. It was a chill morning yet and they had a blanket spread across them. Still, though, Taako could feel the tension in the line of Kravitz's body. He leaned back and reached up, moving to run gentle fingers over Kravitz's cheek.

"What's eating you, handsome?"

Kravitz sighed and kissed the top of Taako's head.

"My dearest, my sweet, tonight is Hallow's Eve and it's been seven years since last the Raven Queen tithed a soul to the Abyss. I'm afraid she might know my... loyalties have wavered."

Taako sat up, turning back to look at Kravitz. Worry crossed his face for a moment.

"Handsome, are you trying to tell me that your boss is going to... to fucking sell you to Hell?"

Kravitz took a breath and then released it.

"Yes, that's about the shape of things."

Taako rested a hand on Kravitz's cheek and leaned in to kiss him lightly.

"My dude, your boss sucks."

* * *

 Taako wrapped his red mantle around his shoulders and ran for the Fae Wood. Tonight was the night, the night of Halloween, and his one chance to win Kravitz free of his queen. He ran down the road, his feet on the packed earth the only sound in the darkness of the night. Miles Cross was deep in the wood, an intersection of two roads that met and parted again like old friends. Taako could see it just ahead and knew he had to find a place to hide, to wait, to watch. Tonight, the Faerie Court would ride and this would be their only chance. Shucking off his mantle, he ducked down behind a bush and peered out. Calling on the power that flowed in his veins, Taako willed himself into invisibility just as the sound of bridle bells began to echo far down the road. Only one kind of horse wore bridle bells on a night like this: the magic steeds of the Otherworld that the Faerie Host rode on Halloween night.

At the front of the host rode a woman clad all in black, her hair streaming back wildly from a mask of bone that was shaped like the skull of a raven. Her mount was a restless thing, all muscles and sinew and wild instinct barely contained by its rider and her will. At her side on a milk-white mare rode a beautiful woman whose face it hurt to look upon. She was bright and beautiful and deadly, she was too real, too immediate, too alive. The whole was too much, but Taako found himself tracing the strands of string that were wrapped around her left hand with curious eyes. Then he snapped back to attention. He had to wait still. On the left, the nearest to the town, on a white steed. That was where he would see his Kravitz.

The rider who approached didn't look like Kravitz and at first, Taako would have ignored this stranger. But then he saw the signs they'd planned. The white stallion, the cocked cap, everything, and of course, a single rose tucked in his hair. Taako dove out of the bushes, grabbing his cape in one hand as he flung himself at Kravitz to pull him down. Kravitz fell into Taako's arms with little to no resistance at first and Taako frantically remembered the instructions Kravitz had given. He pulled the cape up and wrapped it around Kravitz before he could change shapes. As he ran towards the temple on the edge of town, stumbling over rocks and roots, Taako was fairly certain that he could feel beak and wings, feathers and talons contained within.

"Almost there, babe. Almost there."

Kravitz changed again with a long hiss and Taako stumbled, falling to his knees with the sudden weight of the serpent held in his arms. He could hear the Fae Folk laughing somewhere in the wood behind him and stood, falling forwards into a run. He could see the steeple ahead, the light of the lantern hanging in it a beacon that called to him. Father Merle wouldn't be there this late, not on Halloween. Everyone with sense was in the castle tonight where the wards would keep them safe. Taako cried out as Kravitz changed again and a burning pain seared through him. It was as though his arms were wrapped around a burning brand, the red-hot iron searing his flesh.

"Still not giving up. Nice try though."

There was the sacred well, just on the edge of Carterhaugh and near enough to the temple to be safe. The whole complex was devoted to Pan. If anyone could protect them from the Fair Folk, it would be Pan. He felt the grass underfoot as he approached the well, felt the weight of Kravitz in his arms. He was dragging now, slowing down despite the urgency humming in his veins. More magic, it had to be. The Raven Queen trying to keep her prize.

"Tough shit, lady. He's mine now."

Taako reached the edge of the well and dropped the iron brand in, the water hissing and steaming with the sudden heat and the magic in it. Then Taako heard a sputtering cough and reached a hand down, stretching his hand out as far as he could. Kravitz grabbed his forearm and pulled himself up out of the well, breathing hard, stark naked and shivering against the cold, but very much alive.

"Taako?"

Taako slung the red cloak around Kravitz and grabbed his hand.

"Not yet, my guy. We need to get-"

A cry on the wind met their ears, a sound like the baying of hounds in the hunt and the cry of ravens taking wing. Kravitz tightened his grip on Taako's hand and Taako pulled him towards the temple.

"Come on, she won't be able to follow there. Sanctified ground or some bullshit, right? There's rules and shit."

Kravitz hesitated, trying to remember. It had been so long since he'd been able to leave Carterhaugh outside of the high holy days of the year.

"I... I think so. But we need to go quickly."

The cry of the hunting hounds was getting louder as they came closer and closer, hot on their feels it seemed. Taako raced as fast as he could towards the door of the temple, holding Kravitz's hand as tightly as he could. The door to the temple was a solid wooden construction carved and inlaid with patterns of leaves and vines.

"Help me get this thing open."

Taako shoved with all his weight and Kravitz did his best to help, keeping an eye to the forest behind them.

"Taako!"

The red eyes of a beast that was almost nothing like a hunting hound crossed the tree-line just as the door creaked open and Taako tugged Kravitz inside.

"We'll be safe in here, handsome. I promise. We'll make it."

They got the door closed and both fell, sitting against it. Taako was breathing hard but he gave Kravitz a grin and reached for his hand. Kravitz immediately closed that distance, squeezing Taako's hand tightly.

"We... we did it?"

Taako squeezed back and then pulled Kravitz into his arms.

"I'll believe it when it's morning and we can go back outside. Until then, Taako's good in here."

Kravitz smiled and settled there in his arms.

"Until the morning then." 

* * *

 

The morning dawned brightly but Taako and Kravitz slept until the doors to the temple were thrown open. They both looked up, blinking into the light that silhouetted the chuckling priest. Father Merle raised an eyebrow at the two young men and Kravitz tried desperately to cover himself with the cloak. Stammering excuses for why this wasn't what it looked like, Kravitz ended up burying his face in the hood of the cloak. Taako stood and brushed himself off then he grinned at Father Merle.

"S'up, my guy." Then he offered Kravitz a hand up. "Come on, Krav."

Kravitz took Taako's hand and pulled himself to his feet. It was only then that the events of the night before truly sunk in and a laugh bubbled up Kravitz's throat, escaping as an almost startled sound. The moment they stepped outside and into the sun, Kravitz swung Taako into his arms and kissed him soundly.  
  
"We did it. You did it, Taako."  
  
Taako wrapped his arms around Kravitz's waist and grinned.  
  
"Natch. Now come on, my guy. I gotta take you home so you can meet my sister."


End file.
